Walleye

ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) - Cool spring weather might make things more challenging than usual for walleye anglers in Michigan. Walleye season is under way this week. Fisheries supervisor Jessica Mistak of the state Department of Natural Resources tells the Daily Press of Escanaba that walleye may not be moving much because of chilly waters in the central Upper Peninsula. Fishing guides are advising clients to be patient. Charter service owner Ken Lee of Rapid River says the fish are likely to stick around shallower reefs for some time.

There are a few fishing myths that need to be dispelled. One of those is that walleye fishing is more difficult in the hot summer temperatures. Another is that walleyes go deep when the water is at its warmest. And, still another is that walleyes can't be caught in the bright light of mid-day in the summer. All are more or less false. Walleye fishing, in my humble opinion, is almost at its best in August with fishing only better in the fall. The fish seem easier to locate and easier to catch and most of the time we seem to catch larger fish in August after being plagued with sub-legal fish in the earlier summer months.

Over the course of 2011, biologists will be surveying the walleye populations of the Inland Waterway. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Natural Resource Department and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University are joining forces to conduct the survey that will estimate the population size, growth rates, movement and reproductive successes of walleye. Starting in early spring with intensive netting and electrofishing, the biologists will tag and release the walleye.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN - It's one of the more comprehensive studies in recent memory, said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Patrick Hanchin. By the end of 2013, the DNR, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Michigan State University researchers hope to have a more distinct idea of not only how many walleye live in the Inland Waterway, but what they eat, how successfully they reproduce and where they move within the system of lakes and rivers. The waterway begins just east of Petoskey, in Crooked Lake, and stretches through Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River through Mullett Lake and out the Cheboygan River.

LANSING — The Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) will return hatchery production of walleye to historic levels within two years following the development of a process to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) in hatcheries. The DNRE plans to take 50 million eggs from wild fish this spring to produce fry for rearing and stocking, an eight-fold increase from the last two years. VHS weakens blood vessels and causes them to break open in tissues.

It's one of the more comprehensive studies in recent memory, said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Patrick Hanchin. By the end of 2013, the DNR, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Michigan State University researchers hope to have a more distinct idea of not only how many walleye live in the Inland Waterway, but what they eat, how successfully they reproduce, and where they move within the system of lakes and...

There are several famed walleye spots in the Midwest, and in Michigan, as a matter of fact. Lake Erie is one of them and the Saginaw Bay is another. Joining the elite is little Bay de Noc in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is great walleye fishing and unique in the sense that it's virtually a year-around walleye fishery. Any time the walleye season is open, this is a great place to fish. The occasion was the summer meeting of the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association, or MOWA.

ESCANABA (AP) — The Department of Natural Resources says it has finished its first walleye spawning survey on the Ford River in the Upper Peninsula's Delta County. The DNR says data gathered from the survey of the Escanaba-area river will aid in management of walleye in Lake Michigan's Little Bay de Noc and Big Bay de Noc. The department says the survey will document walleye spawning migration patterns, the age structure of spawners, the presence of stocked and naturally reproduced fish, and the size of the spawning population.

Now in its third year, a study of walleye movement and diet in the Inland Waterway is winding down. The study was spawned from concern about a population estimate done on Mullett Lake in 2009. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians' Natural Resources Department wasn't happy with the low population numbers. “Based on the adult walleye population estimates from Mullett Lake in 2009, we wanted to conduct estimates throughout the entire Inland Waterway,” said Maxwell Field, inland fisheries biologist with the tribe.

Walleyes have been attracting more attention from anglers every year, winter and summer. While bass generally are more popular at least in some states, walleyes seem to be commanding more angler hours in Michigan every year and - at least in the winter - they get more hours than anything except perch. There are some pretty good reasons for that. Walleyes aren't great fighters, but they get big and when they get some size they are really fun to haul up onto the ice with light tackle.

CRAWFORD COUNTY - The Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) is drawing down Big Creek Impoundment in Crawford County to address structural issues with the dam's outlet pipe. The drawdown has already begun after problems were revealed during a routine inspection by the dam safety unit of the Department of Environmental Quality. The structure is the responsibility of the DNR's Fisheries Division. Big Creek Impoundment is 97 acres and is surrounded by public land. DNR unit manager Dave Borgeson said the flooding is a popular attraction for anglers.

Now in its third year, a study of walleye movement and diet in the Inland Waterway is winding down. The study was spawned from concern about a population estimate done on Mullett Lake in 2009. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians' Natural Resources Department wasn't happy with the low population numbers. “Based on the adult walleye population estimates from Mullett Lake in 2009, we wanted to conduct estimates throughout the entire Inland Waterway,” said Maxwell Field, inland fisheries biologist with the tribe.

HILLMAN - It's a little misleading to call James Farm Pond a “walleye pond.” First of all, the 3-foot-deep pond east of Hillman is a bone-dry, grassy meadow most of the year. Secondly, if it weren't for all that grass, then plankton wouldn't have anywhere to live once the pond is flooded in the spring. Without plankton, there would be no walleye. The pond is a joint operation between the Department of Natural Resources' Fisheries Division and the Thunder Bay Walleye Club, whose volunteers offer some much needed help when the time comes to harvest hundreds of thousands of walleye fingerlings from the 5-acre flooding in late spring.

50 years ago Twins born Susie and Bucko, glossy-coated whitetail deer at Petoskey's deer park at the Winter Sports Park, became proud parents of twin fawns last night and cars filled with admiring well-wishers lined the fence to see them. The fawns make the second set of twins born there in the past month, and assistant city manager Ted Wilcoxen was on hand to make sure nobody got too close and frightened them. The deer have proven a real attraction here, and most every night parents bring small youngsters to the park for a pre-bedtime thrill.

ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) - Cool spring weather might make things more challenging than usual for walleye anglers in Michigan. Walleye season is under way this week. Fisheries supervisor Jessica Mistak of the state Department of Natural Resources tells the Daily Press of Escanaba that walleye may not be moving much because of chilly waters in the central Upper Peninsula. Fishing guides are advising clients to be patient. Charter service owner Ken Lee of Rapid River says the fish are likely to stick around shallower reefs for some time.

The bite appears to be slow across the area but that isn't stopping anglers from chasing big fish. Most area bait shops are reporting fishermen are buying blue, gray and sucker minnows in pursuit of big perch, walleye and pike. Jerry Mier, owner of Northern Sports in Gaylord, said one angler bought a dozen sucker chubs to fish for big pike on Otsego Lake Thursday, where most of his customers are fishing for perch and pike. Tony Svaluto at Otsego Lake Corner Store said a few sturgeon have been caught so far this season on Otsego.

Charlevoix native Marianne Pfister Huskey is living a life most anglers dream of: she's a professional walleye angler. And she's not only a professional walleye angler, but the only female professional walleye angler on the circuit. Pfister Huskey came to the job after a lifetime of fishing. "When I was little, I would go with my grandfather salmon fishing and perch fishing," she said. She and her grandfather would fish Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, but it was after she moved away from Charlevoix at age 23 that she became enamored of walleye.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN - It's one of the more comprehensive studies in recent memory, said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Patrick Hanchin. By the end of 2013, the DNR, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Michigan State University researchers hope to have a more distinct idea of not only how many walleye live in the Inland Waterway, but what they eat, how successfully they reproduce and where they move within the system of lakes and rivers. The waterway begins just east of Petoskey, in Crooked Lake, and stretches through Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River through Mullett Lake and out the Cheboygan River.

It's one of the more comprehensive studies in recent memory, said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Patrick Hanchin. By the end of 2013, the DNR, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Michigan State University researchers hope to have a more distinct idea of not only how many walleye live in the Inland Waterway, but what they eat, how successfully they reproduce, and where they move within the system of lakes and...